Nancy Lopez - Part 2 (The Early Tour Years)

Join us for a riveting conversation with the winner of 48 LPGA Tour events, Nancy Lopez, as she shares her inspiring journey from her time at the University of Tulsa to the top ranks of professional golf. In this episode, Nancy opens up about her life both on and off the greens, providing an in-depth look at the pressures of professional golf and the impact of her father's guidance. Discover how she cleverly navigated the balance between her academics and burgeoning golf career, and the role that the University of Tulsa and the Colgate Palmolive Golf Scholarship played in shaping her incredible journey.

We take a walk through Nancy's incredible accolades, from her 1978 Rookie of the Year win to her streak of five consecutive tournament triumphs. But it wasn't all smooth sailing; Nancy opens up about a chilling incident on the LPGA tour where she was followed by two men, and how her quick thinking potentially saved her from a dangerous situation. This episode goes beyond just the golf, revealing the person behind the legend and her experiences in a male-dominated sport.

Have you ever wondered how crucial a caddy is to a golfer's success? We wrap up our engaging talk with Nancy highlighting this often overlooked aspect of golf. Listen as Nancy recounts an instance where her caddy's invaluable assistance helped her navigate a challenging shot. This episode isn't just for golf enthusiasts, it's a must-listen for anyone seeking inspiration, as we provide a unique peek into the life and career of one of golf's greatest. Don't miss out on walking the greens with Nancy Lopez as she continues her incredible life story, “FORE the Good of the Game.”

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About

"FORE the Good of the Game” is a golf podcast featuring interviews with World Golf Hall of Fame members, winners of major championships and other people of influence in and around the game of golf. Highlighting the positive aspects of the game, we aim to create and provide an engaging and timeless repository of content that listeners can enjoy now and forever. Co-hosted by PGA Tour star Bruce Devlin, our podcast focuses on telling their life stories, in their voices. Join Bruce and Mike Gonzalez “FORE the Good of the Game.”

Thanks so much for listening!

Lopez, Nancy

Golf Professional

The year was 1978, and the Ladies Professional Golf Association was suffering an identity crisis. Growing up in Roswell, New Mexico, came an unidentified flying star, a Mexican-American girl whose father owned an auto-body shop. She won the state amateur when she was 12, two U.S. Girls’ Junior titles, an NCAA title, and, in 1975, she finished second in the U.S. Women’s Open. If this wasn’t the savior, then only God knows who was.

Her name was Nancy Lopez, and it wasn’t long before everybody just called her Nancy. She won five consecutive tournaments in 1978, and everybody sort of hitched a ride on her skirt tails: the press, the fans, the sponsors, even the rest of the women playing the sport. These were magical times for women’s golf, and nobody seemed to want to get in her way.

She won nine times that year, including the LPGA Championship, eight times in 1979 and she was the nicest person in the world. “After my first year I thought, ‘I could be a flash in the pan,’ and I was also determined to prove I was not,” Lopez has said. “I was determined not to fall on my face, though it is easy enough to choke yourself to death trying to win.”

Looking back on these years Jaime Diaz wrote in Sports Illustrated that Lopez had burst on the scene with as much charisma as anyone since Babe Didrikson Zaharias.

“I was determined not to fall on my face, though it is easy enough to choke yourself to death trying to win.”
Not even Zaharias had become a legend so fast. She was all of 21 years old, and the veterans marveled not only at her golfing abili… Read More

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